Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie Bars

Easy ONE BOWL Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie Bars with gooey caramel-esque sweet and crunchy filling and a soft and chewy SUGAR COOKIE CRUST are the ideal holiday dessert because they are SO easy, make ahead and unbelievably delicious!

I didn’t know I loved pecan pie until my sister brought it to Thanksgiving years ago. My husband didn’t know he loved it either and it turned out to be both of our favorite dessert that year! So this year I wanted to create that same love affair with pecan pie but in pecan pie bar form.

But these aren’t just any Pecan Pie Bars. These Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie Bars boast generous chunks of chocolate that only enhance the mouthwatering custard-like filling and add an extra depth of yum.

For the crust, I chose a sugar cookie crust instead of a shortbread crust because not only is the prepackaged ready to go dough so easy (and we can all use a whole lot more of easy during the holidays) for an effortless press-in crust, but is so buttery, tender and melt in your mouth – no crumbly, hard crusts here!

To make our Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie Bars, simply press the cookie dough into an 8 X 8 baking pan lined with greased foil and bake for 30 minutes until nice and golden. Then fill with your Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie Filling that takes all but 5 minutes to whisk together (no stove or boiling) and bake for another 25-30 minutes.

How easy is that?! The hardest part will be exercising your patience as these bars need to cool then be refrigerated for at least 2 hours or until the chocolate is firm otherwise you will have a gooey mess of a hard time slicing them. But because these Pecan Pie Bars need to be refrigerated, they are a fabulous for a make ahead dessert and because of the corn syrup, they stay nice and chewy for days with being refrigerated. Not that they will last that long.

And there you have Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie Bars with melt-in-your-mouth brown sugar filling complete with salty pecans and sweet chocolate on a soft bed of butter sugar cookie. Happy early Thanksgiving to YOU!

Want to try these Chocolate Chunk Pecan Pie Bars?

Pin it to your DESSERT, THANKSGIVING, or HOLIDAY Board to SAVE for later!

Meanwhile, add all of the Filling ingredients EXCEPT pecans and chocolate chunks to a medium bowl. Whisk to evenly combine then fold in pecans and chocolate chunks. Pour filling onto cookie dough crust and spread evenly. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until top is brown and set.

Let bars cool on wire rack for 1 hour then refrigerate at least 2 hours until chocolate is firm. Use foil overhang as handles to remove bars and cut into small squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Serve cold or at room temperature. Also delish with vanilla ice cream!

Recipe Notes

*Don't be leery about the apple cider vinegar - it, along with extra vanilla, is a bourbon substitute and is undetectable - just adds to the overall deliciousness.

Hi Karen! I would use your favorite dairy free sugar cookie recipe that has about 1 1/2 cups flour in to make the right amount of cookie dough. I found this one: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2014/12/09/sugar-cookie-bars/ that is dairy free except for milk of choice which could be substitute for a diary free milk. Hope that helps!

YAY! I am so glad you went for it and they were a huge hit! The Cider vinegar along with the extra vanilla is a substitute for bourbon that many recipes call for but virtually undetectable except for delicious 🙂 Happy Holidays!

making these RIGHT now for tonight… using my mama’s homemade sugar cookie crust as i couldn’t find the pillsbury version. have a sneaky feeling they will be all the more decadent! thanks jen! LOVE you!

Hi Jen, these are so amazing! I hope nobody is as foolish as me and forgets to spray the foil though. It took a long time to get the bars out and I even had to eat a couple squished tops in the process with a glass of milk. Which was a fabulous dinner. Luckily most of them still came out perfect! I’m making another batch now…

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